dolf Hitler, the leader of the German armyand country, was committing crimes against humanity: he was attempting to exterminatean entire race. Morgan, in The Once and Future King, is the leader of a cold and brutalpeople who kill people for their own pleasure. The influence the times in which The Onceand Future King was written, especially the influence of Hitler and his regime, are veryapparent in The Once and Future King.The historical context also becomes an issue in White’s portrayal of Morgause.She has an affair with her brother, Arthur, yet the fact he was her brother alone does notresult in White’s negative portrayal of her. It seems that White is punishing Morgause forher unfaithfulness to her husband in his very pessimistic depiction of her. This can betraced to the time in which White wrote. While their husbands and sweethearts were awayat war, no matter how long they be there for, women were expected to remain chaste.This value of the society is exhibited in the way White treats adultery on the part of thewomen involved.The Mists of Avalon, a twentieth century New York Times best-seller by MarionZimmer Bradley is very influenced by the early 1980’s society in which it was written. Thisera was both very humanistic and feminist, two values that are reflected in Bradley’sdepiction of Morgan Le Fay. This is exhibited in the values which Morgan holds and herreactions and actions in light of what she is experiencing. Morgan is incestuous, as is acommon theme in the Arthurian legend, however this is not presented as terribly bad byBradley. The modern “anything goes” society in which she wrote definitely influenced theway Morgan was presented in being essentially “good” despite the “bad” things she hasdone- in killing Avalloch, in her affairs with many men and in her ill treatment of herhusband. Abortion and suicide, two things frowned upon very much until the last half ofth...
